For three years in a row the top ten Taiwan brands have grown in value, this year reaching a combined value estimated at > US$4.6bn, up 11% from last year. TrendMicro is once again ranked number one on the list with BenQ having enjoyed the highest brand value growth.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE. Taipei, Taiwan, Oct. 4, 2005 –
The Top 10 Global Brands in Taiwan, based on an extensive survey directed by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, sponsored by the Bureau of Foreign Trade and executed by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council, Business Next magazine and Interbrand, has been announced on October 4, 2005, presenting official certificates to the Taiwanese brands TrendMicro, ASUS, ACER, BenQ, Master Kong, MAXXIS, Giant, SYNNEX, ZYXEL and D-Link.
TrendMicro, which has surpassed the US$ 1billion value mark, is the first Taiwanese brand that would now be large enough in value to be considered for the Interbrand Business Week Top 100 brands list.
BenQ, No.4 on the 2005 list, enjoys the highest brand value growth reflecting its aggressive growth strategy demonstrated both through the Siemens AG's cell-phone acquisition and through its organic emphasis on brand development. The move into potentially more lucrative, more branded, markets indicates both opportunity and risk.
SYNNEX is back in the top 10 brands this year having made a strong comeback from last year, reinforcing its brand value through steady financial performance .
ASUS, Giant, ZYXEL and D-Link all demonstrated small increases in brand value but it was the more manufacturing-intensive brands that have suffered the most: Master Kong and Maxxis both suffering at the hands of low cost competitors and rising raw material costs.
Despite still being the biggest instant-noodle maker in China, Master Kong, facing significant competition, has dropped 14% off its brand value. MAXXIS, though working extensively on its overseas markets, also sees its brand value drop as a result of decreased profits in 2004, with some uncertainty remaining over the future of the industry
In its three consecutive years, the Top 10 Global Brands in Taiwan is a survey that determines whether companies have reached their goals in brand building strategies, based on the Business Week magazine’s collaboration with the global brand consultancy Interbrand, which works with businesses on the creation, management and evaluation of their brands.
“Awareness of the importance of investing in branding is increasing,” Joanna Hillard, Strategy Director of Interbrand, said in an interview, “we have seen some great examples of branding in considering this years’ candidates for the Top Ten Taiwan Brand Award, including some that this year did not make it onto the final table which is encouraging. Advantech, UniPresident and Transcend are all examples of Taiwanese brands considered that showed evidence of strong potential. BenQ has clearly demonstrating its hunger to move into the league of the world’s top international brands, but the challenge for them now is to make the transition from being the fourth largest mobile phone manufacturer, to being the fourth largest mobile phone brand.
As with some of the other potential international brands on the Top Taiwan list there is now a need to transition from spending on building awareness and presence, to consolidating and focusing on building a uniquely differentiating brand platform consistently across its markets.”